RamHatter

The RID Project: Pants (Update #14)

2012-01-26T22:20:00.000-06:00

No more pants means no more use for the hangers.

Pants, who needs them?! Obviously I'm not going to get rid of all my pairs of pants! However, I don't need all the pairs I have.

Since adopting a minimalism lifestyle, I've come across other minimalists that challenge me with their lives. They live on less than 100 things, limit themselves to 15 things, or wear one dress every day for an entire year. I'm challenged and inspired. I don't think I can do what they do, not yet anyway, but I can reduce the amount of stuff I own.

Since starting The RID Project, my clothing has taken a huge hit. And you know what? I haven't noticed. Why did I have so many clothes? I'm not certain, but an experience from the seventh grade sticks out.

Junior High is an awkward time, and I think that's being nice. You're aware of everyone's thoughts and words about you. Any kind of slight about you can send you into a temporary depressive state.

I had a t-shirt that I liked to wear. It was a Santa Monica Airlines shirt, a skateboard company. One week, I wore this shirt on a Monday, but I wanted to wear it again. I washed it, and pulled it out later that week on a Thursday to wear again. I didn't think anyone would notice. I was wrong. In French class, a girl made fun of me for wearing a shirt twice in one week and wondering if I had enough clothes.

I tried to not let it get to me, but I wanted to hide.

I didn't wear that shirt much again, but I made sure I had plenty of clothes as to not be made fun of again.

Fast forward twenty-plus years. I have clothes that sit idle in my closet or dresser. I don't wear them, but they are there just in case. Especially t-shirts. I've already rid myself of over thirty t-shirts, and more are going.

But what about pants?

I only wear two pairs of jeans consistently. I have a pair of khakis I wear from time to time. I have a pair of pants that go with a suit. That's it. Why do I have all the other pairs of pants? Because...just because.

I got rid of all the other extra pairs of pants. Jeans, dress pants, and everything else. Two pairs of dress pants had dust on them. When I pulled them out of the closet I couldn't recall ever wearing them, nor could I remember how I acquired them.

I did keep one pair of jeans for work clothes. Even that seems a bit ridiculous, but it's there for now.

My closet is a bit more barren. Hangers hang empty.

When this is all said and done I'll be curious to see how many articles of clothing I'll still own. I've rid myself of a lot of clothes, and I don't miss anything yet. What can I get down to? Who knows? I know I won't care about someone's remark about my lack of clothing options this time around.

For an explanation of The RID Project, click here. To read previous updates, click here.

3 Video Shoots, for 3 Different Videos, in 7 Days

2012-01-24T11:20:00.000-06:00

Less than two weeks till the launch of the Online Campus. Is everything ready? Hardly, but we are getting there. It's going to be fun final two weeks.

This past week I spent a majority of my time working on a number of videos related to the Online Campus. Because of my schedule already, recovering from being sick, and watching the boys while Jana was out of town, it was a fast and furious couple of shoots.

Video shoot #1 / January 16 / "My Story"

Sharing my story, and the story of the Online Campus. photo by Jordan Johnson

This first video was a mix of context, and story, about me and how the Online Campus came to be. It would be posted online. I came up with the idea from a video Mars Hill did where Mark Driscoll shared a bit of his own story and how Mars Hill came to be. I really liked it, so I tried to emulate the concept and put our own spin on it. We shot it in Dundee, the neighborhood I grew up in, as a kid, in Omaha, NE.

The tough thing was not having much time to edit and storyboard it. As I've talked about, I'm doing a bit of everything right now. My schedule has never been more efficient, and never been more busy. The time I'd normally have to work on a project like this I didn't have.

I had met with Jordan Green Productions prior to the shoot to discuss the concept, but when the day came to shoot it we realized we needed some more time to tweak it. We both liked what we had, but we wanted it to be better.

Nevertheless, on a cold Monday afternoon, we (Jordan Green, Vivian Kvam, and Jordan Johnson) shot the video. Originally we were to shoot it the previous Friday, but I didn't have much of a voice from the cold I had. Three days later, I still wasn't feeling well, and my voice wasn't great, but we were running out of time to shoot this thing.

The above picture doesn't do it justice. With the windchill, the temperature was in the low 20's for most of the afternoon. We took one break so we could warm up a bit in our cars. The Chuck Taylors I was wearing? They aided in my feet becoming numb. In between takes I would put my hood up over my head to try and retain some warmth.

After we finished shooting, we stopped for another break. Jordan Green went and got some hot chocolate at a local gas station, which we all thought was some of the best hot chocolate ever. We talked about shooting some more b roll later that night.

That night I went to Jordan Green Productions studio, and for the next three and a half hours we hashed out a plan. We were going to scrap the original concept, use the footage as just a piece on my story, come up with a script for a new video that answers the "why" about online church and plan another shoot. Somehow, we managed to do all that.

Video Shoot #2 / January 20 / "Online Campus Welcome"

Getting ready to film in the Access venue at CCC Old Mill. photo by Jordan Green productions

The For five hours on Friday, we filmed around Christ Community Church with me answering the question of, "Why online church?" I used Acts 2:42 as a basis for the concept, which is an idea CCC Elder Ken Dick has discussed at length when it comes to the Online Campus. I wanted to explain while the methods of online church may look different, at the core it is still the same. The video will be posted online at the Online Campus pages.

My voice was a lot better than on Monday. Plus, we weren't freezing outside. In between shots, I managed to handle a pastoral situation with someone who walked-in. A fun and full day.

At the end of shooting, Jordan Green and I were pleased with the day's developments. He and his team have to do a fast turnaround with the editing, but it'll happen. Me being sick and having to cancel our first planned shoot threw everything into disarray, but we managed.

Video Shoot #3 / January 22 / "Introduction"

Shooting the Online Campus Introduction video. photo by Jordan Johnson

The third video is an introduction to the Online Campus for people at CCC. It will be played during the February 5 services and will let people know about the Online Campus officially launching that day.

The video will also show a bit of how the Online Campus works. The video will play in the video frame on the Online Campus streaming page. While it plays, we'll show off different aspects of the page as I talk about them.

I was asked if I could come up with this video, but delegated much of the work to my friend Jordan Johnson. I had little to do with this piece. Jordan came up with the script, shot the piece and is currently editing it. With everything going on in life (busyness, sickness and temporary single parenthood), it was nice to be able to have Jordan run with this and not worry about it at all.

Three video shoots, for three different videos, in seven days. Whew! Thanks to Jordan Green Productions and Jordan Johnson for their help!

The RID Project: Digital Files (Update #13)

2012-01-20T20:57:00.001-06:00

Physical reality of my hard drive's reality

Somewhere along the way, I amassed a plethora of files. On my MacBook Pro, I have over 1,000,000 files. This does not count my backup drive at work where I store more files. I use to think it's nice to have a place where I could store everything digital, but do I really need to keep everything digital?

Currently...

I have 213 apps for my iPhone and iPad. I maybe use 20 on a consistent basis.
I have over 12,000 photos in my library, and that's after I deleted over 2,000 photos a few months ago.
I have 701 podcasts (at the moment) in my iTunes library. Half of them I have listened to, roughly. The other half? Well, I want to listen to them, but I don't have time to always get to them. Still I subscribe to the podcast feed so I build up a massive backlog of podcasts to listen to...someday.
I have several hundred home videos that I have yet to watch.
Emails? God only knows.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. Because of the busyness of the past few months it has only gotten worse. My computer is like a hoarder's home with stuff stacked to the ceiling and only a little path from room to room to navigate.

It's a joke. Still, it's hard for me to delete some of this stuff.

I think part of it stems from journaling. I've been journaling on a computer since 1995. When I'm not journaling, I've kept a lot of emails from over the years as another way to document the times. That's expanded to online articles, and the digital photos, and...you get the idea. I have a hard drive of stuff, which a lot of could be deleted. Yet it's hard for me to do it.

For instance, why can't I delete a lot of the apps I don't use? I paid $4.99 for one particular app. It's been useless since day one, but I don't want to get rid of it. I'm trying to think of some way to get resale value, like a physical book, but that can't happen. And, there isn't a used app store I can go to buy used apps. "This Angry Birds app has a little wear and tear, but it works like new."

Am I going to watch Heroes season one again? Probably not, so why hold on to the digital files I bought and downloaded from iTunes?

I have several thousand pictures of my boys, and yet I find it hard to delete perfectly good photos of them. Do I need twenty variations of one scene of my boys? No, I do not, and still I keep them all.

And really, is it that important for me to hold on to a podcast or app that I can download again for free?

I need to start deleting. I need to set aside time and go through all my libraries and delete away. However, right now I don't have time to set aside a couple hours to do that. Instead, I'm trying to take a few minutes here and there to clean up my computer. Doing so will help it run more efficiently. I'll be able to find files easier. Things will be more organized. Most importantly, I'll be able to appreciate the files I do want to keep. I want to enjoy photos and videos of my boys now, not on some rainy day in the future.

For an explanation of The RID Project, click here. To read previous updates, click here.

Stay Tuned...

2012-01-20T20:15:00.001-06:00

I feel like that is a constant refrain of mine. February 5 is coming soon, the launch date of the Online Campus. I was hoping I'd be able to document more of what has been going on, but I just haven't had time. It's kind of a bummer, but I also know exciting things are getting ready to happen. A lot of the days are filled with "dirty work" and meetings, but it's all necessary to keep things moving forward.

The past two weeks have added their own touch to the proceedings since I got sick and Jana has been out of town for a few days. I've been on single parent duty. At the end of the day, I just want to crash!

Just over two weeks to go till the launch. Am I ready for it? Well, not today, but in two weeks?

Stay tuned...

The RID Project: My Version of Golden Boy (Update #12)

2012-01-14T15:12:00.002-06:00

A t-shirt I've had since high school.

Before this post starts, some context. A clip from my favorite episode of Seinfeld.

Some t-shirts last longer than they should. And even when they should be retired, we hold onto them because they have lasted so long. They take on sentimental value.

One of my t-shirts I have had since high school. I can't recall when I got it, it was a nondescript t-shirt I received as a gift. Still, I kept wearing it over and over. When in doubt, I went with wearing it. It was so comfortable that I would wear it during the fall and winter seasons under sweaters and hoodies. It didn't have a nickname like "Golden Boy". It was just the shirt I wore no matter what.

Over the years, it has worn thin and holes started to appear along the seams. I started wearing white undershirts under it. One time, I wore this combination to Baker's, a local grocery store, to do some shopping with Jana. Jana was almost apoplectic over me wearing a t-shirt, out in public, with holes in it. I didn't see what the big deal was, especially since I'm only getting groceries at Baker's. The next day we went to church, and the guy that was leading the music portion of the service had on jeans with massive holes in them. I was sure to point that out to Jana, and our argument continued.

Since those events over five years ago, whenever I pull out this t-shirt to wear, I can count on Jana for an eyeroll and/or a comment. Sometimes, I purposely pull out the shirt just to get that reaction. One time, we were going somewhere and I wore it because I knew pictures would be taken. She didn't pick up on it till later when she asked, "Did you wear that shirt just because you KNEW there would be a camera there?" What, me?

It's been fun, but there is also reality. The more I wear it, the more it falls apart. (The above picture doesn't do it justice.) The last time I pulled it out I could practically see through the front of it because it has worn so thin. Holes continue to appear. The lettering and graphics are starting to fade. I only wear it now around the house or to get a reaction out of Jana.

It's time to retire the shirt.

Ordinarily I'd just trash the shirt, but I'll let Jana decide what to do with it since it has been a thorn in her side for a number of years now. ;)

So long, "Golden Boy". :(

Liam's Lessons: Project 4:4/Genesis 1-9

2012-01-14T14:25:00.000-06:00

I sit down with my 5-year old son Liam to get a kid's perspective about Project 4:4 so far. Completely unscripted, obviously. Yes, I'm quite aware that everything may not be theologically accurate, but hopefully the core of what Liam is saying is understood.

In this video, Liam and I talk about Adam & Eve, Noah, and of course Jesus. Liam also sings some songs at the end of the video, so be sure to stay around for that.

Project44.org

Beyond The Message: Project 4:4/Genesis 11 & 14

2012-01-13T21:00:00.000-06:00

In the latest Beyond The Message video, I sit down with Tim Perry to talk about some passages from the Book of Genesis. We discuss the character of Melchizedek, and the connections to Jesus. We also discuss what happened at Babel and why it was good for people to be dispersed.

And, we even had an outtake this time. It's no wonder some staff have suggested that the two of us should not sit together during staff meetings. This video shows why we were a bit *silly* at the start.

Project 4:4 & Thoughts about Genesis 1-3

2012-01-13T20:49:00.000-06:00

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” -Matthew 4:4 (ESV)

Throughout 2012, Christ Community Church is participating in Project 4:4, a plan to read through the entire Bible in chronological order. Project 4:4 gets its inspiration from the above passage in the Gospel of Matthew.

On Sunday mornings, Lead Pastor Mark Ashton, along with other CCC Teaching Pastors, will preach a message centered around that week's readings. The first message Mark preached was based from the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis. We also had sand animator Mark Demel performing throughout the message as well.

Here are some of my thoughts from Mark's message and Genesis 1-3.

Boom.

Right off the back, God is actively creating. There's no mincing of words here. "In the beginning, God created...". I like how Lead Pastor Mark had us focus in on those five words for a few minutes. It is the linchpin for so much of what is to come. Often, people zero in on the science of the verses in Genesis 1. While I think it is important to process the science of what is going there, especially since the stereotypical evangelical Christian's account of creation is a difficult idea for a lot of people to accept*, I think it's good to look at the foundation of what is being communicated. Genesis 1 is not a scientific text. Genesis 1 is about God. God is the worldview. God timeless. God all-powerful. God creative. God artistic. God personal. God is, was and will be. As Mark put it, God is prime reality. Take it down from five words to four. "In the beginning, God..."

*I'll also post some resources at the end of this post that delve more into the science of creation. The scientific questions that arise from Genesis 1 are important to ask. And, there are a number of differing perspectives one can have about creation that still fall safely under the Christian banner. Christians should not fear science.**

**For the record, I lean toward a historic creationism point of view and not young earth creationism.

With God as the benchmark, the foundation, we then see God's power on display when he speaks the universe into existence. Not only does he speak something into existence from nothing, but he speaks it into a perfectly fine-tuned existence that can sustain life.

And amidst this power, creation and beauty, God creates Adam and Eve...he creates humanity. The pinnacle of creation. Humanity is the only thing God breathes life to, according to scripture. Humanity is unique amongst God's creation in this regard.

Growing up, I read about pioneers who headed west. They often faced disease, violence, weather, despair and more. Many who headed west in the pioneer days did not survive the westward trek. Contrast that with God who places Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The garden is already established. It is beautiful, orderly and fruitful. Adam and Eve did nothing to get it to that state. Humanity isn't placed in the wilderness, God sets up the pioneers of humanity for success. All Adam and Eve have to do is tend to the garden.

We don't know how long Adam and Eve were in the garden before the fall. And, we don't know when or how the serpent became evil. This could seemt to run counter to Genesis 1:31 where "everything he had made...was very good". However, one way to look at it is at some point after Genesis 1:31 evil entered the created world.

Eve was tempted to sin, by the serpent, and it's interesting the lie she is told. It's a slight alteration of the truth. Someone once said that the best lies are 99% true. Whatever the lie is, it sounds so true that the person believes it. Let's break it down.

What God said to Adam: You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

What the serpent said to Eve: Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?

What Eve attributed to God: 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'

Little twists take the truth just a little bit away from what was originally said, but that's all it takes. As Pastor Mark said in his message, what was Adam telling Eve? Did he even say anything? We don't know for certain. (And really, what is Adam doing during all this?) The serpent twists what God says, and Eve tries to correct with what she thinks is the truth.

When Eve does take the fruit, she probably thinks it will be okay to eat. Why? Because if you go back to what she said to the serpent, she mistakenly thought that she couldn't touch it and live. And here she is touching it and not dying. She probably surmises that she can eat the fruit and not die either. She eats the fruit. She then gives some to Adam. He's not deceived, he's just a fool by blatantly disobeying God's command to him.

They sin, and they experience the effects of sin. They attempt to hide their shame. As a former addict, I know this feeling too well. You are tempted and trick yourself into thinking that your vice will satisfy, but after you indulge in it you immediately feel guilt, remorse...shame. You hide from God.

God, in his infinite mercy, comes to Adam and Eve. And, depending on your translation, it would appear that God came to them immediately. This is speculation on my part, but one could think that if God did not come immediately, the serpent could have tempted the two of them to eat from the tree of life. And then, they would spend eternity in a fallen state.

Adam and Eve play the blame game, when talking to God, neither of them taking responsibility for their sin. What is interesting to me is the serpent is there. What is the serpent doing? I imagine a smirk, at first. The serpent (Satan) thinking it has defeated God's creation, getting vengeance against God, but God declares the serpent's downfall.

And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
-Genesis 3:15 (NIV)

Genesis 3:15 is the first prophecy of Jesus. This verse is called the "protoevangelion", meaning first gospel. It is fitting that the first mention of Jesus encapsulates what his life would do. We get a hint of the virgin birth with God saying it would be through the offspring of "hers". (He would be Mary's offspring and not Joseph's.) His heel would be struck by the serpent (Jesus' crucifixion), but he would crush its head. (Jesus defeating sin and death because of the cross.) Two moments in the Bible where Satan thinks it has victory, however it only finds defeat.

Adam and Eve face the consequences of their sin, and it seems harsh that God would push them out of the garden for a simple sin. Pastor Mark explained this well. It was in mercy that God banished them from the garden. They did not eat from the tree of life and thus eternally live in a fallen state. For me, I think about the bondage that came with being an addict. If I had to live in that state forever? That would be hell.

Yet we don't have to experience that hell. God loves humanity. In a moment of defeat he declares the coming hope of Jesus, who would be humanity's redeemer. He is our redeemer now. As Pastor Mark said, we cling to the hope of the cross as we wait in the "in between".

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
-Revelation 22:20 (ESV)

Resources:
Doctrine/Creation: God Makes
Doctrine/Creation: God Makes Q&A
Cosmic Fingerprints: See God's handiwork through His creation with astrophysicist Dr. Hugh Ross
Reasons to Believe

Sick and Busyness Don't Mix Well with Blogging

2012-01-13T20:03:00.001-06:00

Well, not off to the start I was hoping to with blogging this year. Getting a cold this past week knocked me off track a bit, and work is just a busy state right now. Let' see if I can get some posts up tonight...

The RID Project: Gifts/Board Game (Update #11)

2012-01-09T12:46:00.000-06:00

Where is the spice?!

I'll be doubling up with RID Project posts, this week, since I missed last week. Today, it's a look back at Christmas.

As Jana and I get rid of stuff, we find more stuff to get rid of. Part of the fun has been identifying things that we can give to people they would enjoy more than us. Especially since most of the items we give to them have been gathering dust in our cellar. During the Christmas season, we were able to give gifts to people that were items we were planning to get rid of.

We were able to get rid of books, dvds, t-shirts, homeware and more. Besides seeing how grateful people were to be blessed with these items, it had the added benefit of saving money for Jana and me. We were able to bless a lot of people, and yet this Christmas we spent less than ever for the holiday.

One of the things we gave away was a board game. Jana and I enjoy playing old school board games. For her thirtieth birthday, I gave her thirty gifts. Lots of fun, little things with some big things mixed in. One of those big things was a vintage Dune board game from 1979. I had come across it at a used bookstore in the Old Market. Jana had just finished reading Dune, and had watched the films. She liked the story. So, I picked it up for her birthday.

She liked the gift and we looked forward to playing it. However, we never got around to playing it. We wanted to, but just didn't have time.

In thinking through things we had that we could give as gifts, I thought about the game. However, I didn't want to suggest it since it was a birthday gift for Jana. Jana also thought about the game, but she was slightly concerned since it was a gift from me. We finally realized we were both thinking about the game, and trying to be considerate of the other. We talked through it and realized someone else would enjoy it more, and we knew someone close to us who would. They collect board games and have hundreds of vintage games in their home. The game was going to be enjoyed more by then than Jana and me.

It's a cool game, and it's just cool to have around and look at, but it was something that was taking up space in our home. We weren't playing it, and it is a board game that was meant to be played.

For an explanation of The RID Project, click here. To read previous updates, click here.

"Downwards is the only way forwards."

2012-01-05T19:51:00.000-06:00

I don't think there has been a time in my life where I have been more efficient with my schedule. And yet I still feel overwhelmed by the wave of work and life that is coming over me.

One month from today the Online Campus officially launches. What is there to do before then? Everything. An interesting thing is the work I did to get me into this new role I haven't been doing much of since being in the role. There's new work I have to do to actually launch this campus, necessary work. Planning, meetings, administration, operation. I just find it ironic that the creative and social media work I had done, and is a key tenet of the Online Campus, I don't do nearly as much of in readying this launch. It's not there isn't creative and social media work to do, there is, it's just all on hold at the moment.

I don't know if that is complaint. It's just reality. In some ways, I don't mind it for a season. I understand it. It's the unglamorous work. The hope is that it sets things up for success in the future. I miss the conversations. I miss the community. I miss the culture and creativity. I know it'll be there for me after a short break. Short break being the key.

At the end of the work day I have to push away from the desk, or table, I'm working at and be fine with not being done with everything I need to get done. I have to break. I have to rest. I have to recharge. I am zealous about resting on my Sabbath and not touching work. I have to be for my own sake, and my family's sake.

There is the stereotype of an entrepreneur that is working insane hours for days on end. That's not me. That can't be me. I'm married and a father. That's priority in my life. If I say I do this to provide for my family, am I? My boys don't care about the Online Campus I launched. They care their dad is at home, putting together Lego sets with them and playing "daddy monster". I will not sacrifice my family to build this work.

My calling, my new work, is important to me. I believe in it. I believe in the good it can accomplish. I believe that so much of my life has led me to this point. Do I have all the answers as I go forward? No. Not at all.

I've lost track of the moments where I'm laying in bed wondering. I think about what needs to be done now, tomorrow, next week, next month and beyond. I think about my family and whether or not they are getting their due time and attention from me. I pray...a lot. I unload to God my fears and frustrations.

With the wave of work and life that is coming over me, there is the threat of it incapacitating me. There is the temptation to be immobilized by the fear and take inaction.

"In the face of unknowability, what would rational behavior look like? Would you sit and think, or act?"

-Len Schlesinger

I am staring into the unknown. I have no idea what lays ahead this year. I could fail spectacularly. I feel the temptation to turn inwards and not do a thing. In so many ways, I don't know what I am doing.

Yet...

I am more and more confident about this trek into the black because I know it's what I'm suppose to do. This is the call. What lays ahead is much of what I wanted, in concept, when I was younger. I couldn't ask for anything more than the opportunity that lays ahead. My faith is strengthened. I am clueless, but I know God has called me to this. I can only do what I can. I don't know what I'll be going through, but I will blaze a trail for others to follow because I know where I want to go.

"Gotta kick at the darkness til' it bleeds daylight."

-Bruce Cockburn

By God's grace, and with the support of Christ Community Church and my family, I'm launching an Online Campus of CCC on February 5. Until then, it's crushing out the necessary work that needs to be done so this campus can be a success. I wake up at 6 AM. I have my devotional, I pray. I make sure I get time in with my family when I can. Everything else is seemingly gone by want and necessity. Removing anything that can get in the way of the work at hand. I'm locked in on the call. As said in Inception, "Downwards is the only way forwards."

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For,
“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
-Hebrews 10:35-39 (ESV)*

*Thanks, Doug, for giving me this passage back in August.

Hatter's Dozen 2011: Videos

2011-12-31T16:59:00.000-06:00

YouTube videos are viewed 2,000,000,000 times in one day, so there are a lot of things to watch online. And, I don't nearly get around to watching all of them. Every day brings some new *viral* video that is a must watch, until the next day.

Here are some of those so-called viral videos I came across that I enjoyed. At the end of the list I included some of the favorite videos from the family.

12. NO! NO! NO! - Have to have at least one cat video on here.

11. Hearing for the first time

10. Verizon iPhone - Finally.

9. The Thrilling Joys of Ministry - One of my coworkers, Micah Yost, showed me this video. We laughed, and instantly had our own stories to share that were similar to this video.

8. Introduction to Minimalism - I was new to minimalism when I saw this, and laughed wholeheartedly. I had already experienced a minimalist on Twitter trying to leverage me to promote their stuff.

7. "Alohomora" - An old video by Pogo, but I came across it this year when watching some of his Pixar work. The boys liked this one as well.

6. OVER! - Brilliant.

5. Honey Badger - I laughed out loud when watching this the first time. I then forwarded it on to three friends. If you've watched it, you know the NSFW language in it. I won't embed it here, but it is hilarious.

4. "Mario" - Why can't we get this as a real film instead of the poor adaptation from the 90's? (One NSFW word near the beginning, but then all good.)

3. The Hobbit trailer - There are a number of trailers I could put on this list, but I think this was the best for me. I loved the inclusion of singing, which is prevalent throughout the story and sets the tone.

2. The Force - Every kid that was a Star Wars fan knows this all too well. Great pay off.

1. 25 Years of Pixar Animation - The brilliance and beauty of Pixar.

BONUS:

The boys had their own favorite videos as well. They liked the 25 Years of Pixar and The Force. Liam liked this commercial from the Super Bowl.

Duncan liked this variation of the Nyan Cat. He called it "Sad Cat". He would then ask me why the cat is sad, and I said, "Because it lost its rainbow." I would then say how the cat travels the world looking for its rainbow. "The cat is sad!"

And, circling back to the beginning, one of Jana's favorites of the year.

Hatter's Dozen 2011: People

2011-12-31T14:31:00.001-06:00

Here are the people, outside of Jesus and my family, who influenced and impacted my life throughout 2011. This year's list is vastly different from last year, but one individual is solidified in their spot. A lot of these people were timely when they were involved with my life. I've posted links to their various online presences so you can find out more about them if you'd like.

12. Nicholas Kristof (journalist, author, columnist) - An award-winning journalist for the New York Times, Kristof does not rest on his laurels. He continues to be on the front lines of news, whether it's in the Middle East covering the various democracy movements or uncovering the social injustices half a world away. He's not coasting by doing the talk-show circuit and/or staying within the confines of his world. He's active in reporting news and sharing his informed opinions. He's willing to share opposing viewpoints to his, and be open to being wrong. When I'm in my early 50's, I hope to be on top of my game like Kristof is. I hope my trajectory is still going upward.
Twitter, Blog, Facebook

11. D.A. Carson (theologian, professor) - Through The Gospel Coalition, I listened to a number of Carson's teachings this past year. I was keen to hear his thoughts about universal reconciliation in the aftermath of Love Wins. (Plus, he was part of a panel discussion about Love Wins.) I appreciated his talk about Melchizedek. However, most of all I liked his editorial on the improper use of what is typically called "Matthew 18". Since I've been a Christian, I've witnessed and experienced the abuse of Matthew 18, so it was nice to see Carson succinctly explain the text.
The Gospel Coalition Resources

10. Joe Posnanski (journalist, author, columnist, blogger, podcaster) - The content he produces, at such a level of excellence, is mind-boggling to me. His opinions are well-thought out, engaging, and usually leave me wanting to find out more about a particular subject. This past year, he started a podcast. (Pozcast.) I always enjoyed the meandering talks he had with Michael Schur, a frequent guest, about everything and nothing. As a writer, he continues to have an impact on my work. As a sports fan, he makes fandom more thoughtful and fun.
Twitter, Blog, Facebook, Podcast

9. Omaha World-Herald (Rainbow Rowell, Ross Boettcher, Matt Wynn, Brad Dickson, Jeffrey Koterba, the entire sports staff and more) - I follow a number of World-Herald staff on Twitter, and have appreciated their thoughts about a variety of topics. They have embraced social media and are creating new online tools to engage readers. There is a passion for the community amongst the staff. I think I read the World-Herald more than ever before because of their efforts to adapt to the culture and times. Maybe it was a personal decision, but I understood why Warren Buffett had Berkshire Hathaway purchase the paper late in 2011.
Twitter, WWW

8. Mark Driscoll (Lead Pastor, Mars Hill Church) - I know that by simply listing his name it will anger some of you. I can already hear the criticisms. Some of the criticisms are valid, but more often than not I don't get the criticisms. I hear people take something he said out of context, and attack him for it. I hear people attack him because of a misrepresentation of him. People have a belief about him, and seemingly pick and choose what they want to fortify that belief. Driscoll is by no means perfect, and he'll be the first to say that. Why do I have him here? This talk about Ministry Marriages, which is material from his new book Real Marriage. It should be standard listening for anyone in ministry. Whatever you think about his theology, and the execution of it, the guy loves Jesus and loves his family. More importantly, his family loves him. He also pastors his church. I'm more apt to listen to him than a number of Christian speakers who are pastors in title but appear more often at conferences than at their own church. (Plus, I am grateful for Driscoll making sure so much of Mars Hill's resources are free to the public. That has been a huge blessing to me.)
Twitter, WWW, Facebook, Podcast, Mars Hill Church

7. Craig Groeschel (Senior Pastor, LifeChurch.tv) - This is more indirect impact, but his ministry was pioneering when it comes to online church. I've been able to point to his church as an example of what we are trying to do with aspects of the Online Campus. My new role is due in part to his life and work.
Twitter, Blog, Facebook, Podcast, LifeChurch.tv

6. Jonathan Dodson (Lead Pastor, Austin City Life) - On a cold, snowy day, I had the opportunity to listen to Dodson speak at a church planter's meeting here in Omaha. His talk was on the failure of the missional church. What we have nowadays is the fusion of missional church values with traditional/institutional church structures. How do we adapt our church methodologies with the changing times, technology and culture, while not jettisoning our doctrine and mission so we can be effective in reaching, serving and pastoring people? It was a brilliant talk. I don't think what Dodson had in mind with his talk would be applied to my situation as an Online Campus Pastor, but listening to him speak was one of many confirmations about the new role I was about to accept.
Twitter, Blog, Podcast, Austin City Life

5. Bill Hybels (Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church) - This year's Leadership Summit was phenomenal, and Hybels is synonymous with the event. His message was once again brilliant, but the Summit was all-around great this year. It had a tremendous impact on my life, and two of the spakers from this year's Summit are reasons why. (I will get to them.) Beyond Leadership Summit, Hybels continues on the upward trajectory of life, family and ministry. I like seeing that.
Twitter, Podcast, Willow Creek Community Church

4. Steven Furtick (Lead Pastor, Elevation Church) - I have a post in the works about Furtick. For now, I'll just say I've been pleasantly surprised how much I've come to appreciate and respect his life and work. He handled himself with aplomb at The Elephant Room and at Leadership Summit. I now subscribe to his message podcast. God has used him to grow me, but not in the way you may think. (Like I said, a post is forthcoming.)
Twitter, WWW, Facebook, Podcast, Elevation Church

3. Dave Weaver - It was an eighteen minute talk at TEDx Omaha. He was the first speaker. It may have been lost amidst some of the ideas, and noise, of the rest of the day, but it was a great talk. The RID Project. Every day, for an entire year, Dave got rid of something in his life and documented it. As he puts it, "Getting rid of the things you don't care about to discover the things you do care about." At the time, it had been roughly a year since I heard Joshua Becker talk about minimalism. Weaver's talk reinvigorated me with minimalism, and I decided to do my own version of The RID Project. It is fun.
Twitter, WWW

2. Mama Maggie Gobran (Founder and CEO, Stephen's Children) - Her story of walking away from her life of privilege to work with homeless children, that live amongst trash, in Cairo, Egypt, was a dose of reality. It had me looking at my own life and wondering what was I tangibly doing to help in matters of social justice. Her talk was another thing God used to get me more involved with social justice.
WWW

1. Timothy Keller (Senior Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian) - Just for authoring Generous Justice would have him in this spot. Yet there is so much more. Christ has used Keller to refine my thinking. In one of the epicenters of American thinking and culture (New York City) that runs counter to aspects of the Bible, Keller is having tremendous impact. His experiences inform and help me because of some of the circles I am in here in Omaha. With the platform he has, he is a brilliant example of Jesus and Christianity to the world. When I am in my early 60's, I hope to have a degree of influence and impact that Keller has at the moment. I listen to his podcast, and download other teachings he gives. Listening to them is part of my commute. I've been impacted by his work, but his book Generous Justice pierced me this year. Jesus used it as a catalyst to change my life and to help a community.
WWW, Podcast, Redeemer Presbyterian

Hatter's Dozen 2010: People

Hatter's Dozen 2011
Top Posts
Favorite Posts
Media

Hatter's Dozen 2011: Media

2011-12-30T08:15:00.000-06:00

Like most people, I consume a lot of media throughout the year. It can vary from year to year, though, how many books, movies, music, shows and more I will consume. Instead of doing a separate list for each category of media, I like to combine them all into one list. The cream of the crop, so to speak. Plus, will anyone care my opinion of what the 11th best film of 2011 was?

Understand that what makes this list is what I consumed during 2011. It may have been released before 2011. I do this because I don't have time to catch everything on its initial release, and some media come to the forefront because of hearing positive reviews about it from others over time.

A lot of the picks reflect the change happening in my life and work. That wasn't intentional on my part when I consumed them, but it makes sense as the year ends.

12. The Social Network (soundtrack)

I've always liked the music Trent Reznor produces. Some of the lyrics from his Nine Inch Nails days aren't what I'd listen to routinely, but I always liked what he produced music wise. What Trent, and Atticus Ross, created with this soundtrack was the perfect complement to the film. Listening to the music not only brings to mind scenes from the film, but also periods in my life that reflect the film. I listened to this album more than any other this past year.

11. The Extra 2%

I had listened to Jonah Keri talk about his interactions with the Tampa Bay Rays, when writing this book, and as a Boston Red Sox fan it left me wanting. The recent management of the Rays is spectacular, and then you contrast that with the end of the Red Sox 2011 season. The Rays' organization hustles to find any advantage, no matter how minuscule, and then leverage it for their overall organizational benefit. They don't roll over and give up because of their situation. They find a way to flip it on its head. Working the margins, taking nothing for granted, maximizing anything and everything. The Rays must do everything 2% better than the competition if they are to succeed against the long odds of playing baseball in the AL East against the Red Sox and New York Yankees. And, they have done it.

10. Soccernomics

Partially inspired by Moneyball, Simon Kuper and Stefan Syzmanski use data to explain a number of trends in the world's most popular game...soccer. They didn't rely on the simple narratives that media and fans use over and over again to explain why something is within the game. They probed issues thoroughly to explain the truth behind soccer past, soccer present, and make prognostications about soccer future. If you are a sports fan, but not soccer, you'll still enjoy this book.

9. Attachments

Disclaimer, my friend Rainbow Rowell wrote this so I may be a bit biased. I listened to most of this novel while driving west on I-80, heading home to Omaha. The story is a love story. Not just between characters, but a love of Omaha and the scene there in the 80's and 90's. This was the time I grew up in Omaha. Memories flooded over me while I was immersed in this story. An enjoyable read.

Click here to read my post about Attachments.

8. Scorecasting

Another book that takes conventional sports thinking and flips it on its head. It shows how there are advantages there for the taking, for teams and organizations, but they refuse to because of established culture and acceptance. They don't want to risk change because of the criticism they'll receive from people, even if the change would improve their chances of winning. From loss aversion to established narratives, see how sports are influenced for better or worse.

Here's video of one example from the book. A high school team, Pulaski Academy, always goes for it on fourth down and never kicks off. This video shows how they successfully recover onside kick after onside kick in one game. They built a 29-0 lead...before the other team ran a play from scrimmage.

7. King's Cross

An insightful take, by Timothy Keller, on the story of Jesus found in the Gospel of Mark. Going through the Gospel of Mark again, but with Keller as a guide, was refreshing. No matter what your background is, Keller writes in a way that is respectful to your position, but also clearly communicates the story of Jesus so you can understand it.

6. Moneyball (film)

Yes, there are discrepancies from the book, but the spirit of the book is still there in this adaptation. That this film was even made still boggles the mind. More on Moneyball later.

5. (500) Days of Summer

Some people I know loathed this film, but I loved it. I'm not sure I can adequately explain why in one paragraph. I thought the film was delightful, brilliant, funny and real.

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Parts 1 & 2 double feature)

I had the joy of seeing both of these films back-to-back with a theater full of fellow Harry Potter fans. 9 PM we watched Part 1, and then at midnight we saw the premier of Part 2. I think this was the best way to watch Part 2, because you have the setup of Part 1. Not only that, Part 2 is all action and the climax of seven previous films. On its own, it wouldn't be as good, but with Part 1, at the midnight premiere, surrounded by psyched up fans? It was great. What a way to end Harry Potter.

3. Moneyball (book)

Before I had even read this book, I was a believer in advanced stats. I had numerous arguments with people about why Grady Little's adherence to faulty, traditional baseball thinking led to the Boston Red Sox losing Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. I can still recall the rebuttals to my arguments, "But Pedro is your ace! You can't take him out of Game 7!" Their argument was established narratives that hadn't been challenged. The numbers didn't lie about Pedro, though. At that point in his career, his effectiveness fell off a cliff after he pitched 100 pitches. He needed to be taken out of the game at the end of the seventh inning. He wasn't, and the Yankees came back to win the game.

So, when these same individuals started espousing the merits of Moneyball, I didn't pay it much attention because I thought I knew it already. Most people simplified it down to advanced stats. As I followed the game more online, and immersed myself more in the world of advanced stats, I didn't see the need to read Moneyball.

My mistake.

I finally read it this year, and it was a wonderful story chronicling the rise of the statistical analysis in baseball. (And really sports in general.) Michael Lewis weaves the story's narrative, with the statistical analysis data, seamlessly. He shows the battle, within baseball, of statistical thinking with established thinking. It was fascinating to read and see the responses of people with this debate.

Perhaps it was providential to read it this year, as I launched the Online Campus. I've heard whispered critiques about what I'm doing isn't valid. How this isn't church. I've read online that online church is just a passing fad. My work is challenging established thinking and culture, and that is a threat to some. I'm not the threat, it's the changing methodologies that are a threat. People get comfortable in their culture and methods, but they forget that those things were once threats to the dominant culture and thinking of their time.

Advanced stats, statistical analysis, advanced baseball metrics...whatever you want to call it there are a lot of people that are extremists on both sides of the debate with it. I'll add this. Statistical analysis was a factor in leading the Boston Red Sox to the World Series title in 2004 and 2007. I'll take that.

2. The Social Network

As is the case now, unfortunately, people will someday wonder why The Social Network didn't win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and they'll struggle to remember the film that did win.* Mixing fact and fiction, the film tells the story of the rise of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg.

*In case you've already forgotten, it was The King's Speech. Saw the film and liked it. I doubt I will see it again, but I will watch The Social Network repeatedly. I did three times this year.

1. Generous Justice

I'm not sure what else I can add about this book. It was life-changing for me. It had been a long time since I read a book, outside of the Bible, that had impacted me in such a way. If you're interested, here are links where I go into more detail about the journey this book took me on in 2011.
Returning to the Scene of the Crime...and Receiving Hope (Part 1)
Returning to the Scene of the Crime...and Receiving Hope (Part 2)

Hatter's Dozen 2010: Media

Hatter's Dozen 2011
Top Posts
Favorite Posts

The RID Project: Christmas Traditions (Update #10)

2011-12-29T17:08:00.002-06:00

This year's family ornament.

I've already written about The RID Project affecting one aspect of our family Christmas, but it affected a number of other things as well with the holiday season.

Jana and I are cognizant of all the stuff we have, which is part of the reason we have been trying to get rid of stuff. We did this last year as well, but this year we were even more intentional with the gifts we got the boys. We didn't want them to end up discarded in a day or two. That was our hope, anyway. It could still happen, but we tried to think through the gifts we were getting them. We also extended this to gifts we asked our family to get them. Could they still get them fun stuff? Of course! Our hope, though, was for the boys to receive gifts they'll still like or use six months from now.

We set a modest budget with gifts for the boys, $50 each. Plus, since both of Jana and I's parents are divorced and remarried, the boys will get gifts from four sets of grandparents.

With Gideon, Jana and I didn't get him much. He already has all the clothes and toys he needs from hand-me-downs from Liam and Duncan, or items that were given to us from other parents. This is in contrast with Liam and Duncan's first Christmases when I bought numerous clothes and toys. Those clothes were worn once or twice, and many of the toys were never opened. I am a proud father, but do I really need to spend all sorts of money to show that? Especially when Jana and I are on a single income and almost out of debt? And when he will get tons of gifts from others?

I don't think it is wrong to give gifts, and to give fun gifts, but with where Jana and I are in life we want to be smart in our approach and purchasing. We also want to maximize the fun for the boys while helping them to grasp, as best they can, why we celebrate Christmas.

The budget we set limited what we could get and helped us to be more strategic. For instance, Liam has a lot of little Lego sets. We wanted to get him something bigger that would encapsulate some of the other little sets. So we decided on a Lego castle. However, the cost was over our budget. We talked with my parents, and they agreed to help out in buying it. Once we agreed on this, though, I had trouble finding it to buy! It was sold out on Amazon and on Lego's website. I had to go to five area stores before I finally found one. The best part? It was $20 off! And then, when I went to buy it, the person checking me out told me about another $5 off coupon I could use. Oh happy day.

So, Liam got one gift, along with a stocking stuff or two. Once he opened his Lego castle, he didn't have a care in the world. We spent the rest of the day putting that castle together. At the end of the day he told me it was the best Christmas ever.* No mounds of gifts. No presents that are forgotten a few minutes after they are opened. Nothing that will stay boxed up and clutter a closet or the cellar.

*Slim pickings for sure on his part, but I liked hearing that.

We also stopped giving ornaments to each other. Jana and I have been giving ornaments to each other for awhile. And, we have given the boys one ornament each Christmas as long as they have been alive. Last Christmas, even though he hadn't been born yet, I got Gideon a Superman ornament. This Christmas, we just did one ornament for the entire family, instead of having five new ones. I had The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament in storage. After Jana and I watched the film with the boys, we showed them the ornament and they loved it. It's nice because we are at a point where we have to pick and choose which ornaments go on the tree because we have so many. Only getting one for our entire family makes it easier to choose. Plus, we got rid of some ornaments this season that we don't use or like.

Jana and I talked about a few other things we potentially could get rid of, like Christmas-themed dinnerware. Even though we only use it a few months out of the year, we really like them and decided to hold onto it for now.

The Christmas season flies by quickly, but we enjoyed it a lot this year. Two reasons for that were our minimalism approach and The RID Project. I think we spent less on Christmas this year than we ever had, but the joy did not diminish one bit.

For an explanation of The RID Project, click here. To read previous updates, click here.

Hatter's Dozen 2011: Favorite Posts

2011-12-28T13:34:00.000-06:00

You already saw what were the most read posts in 2011, but the posts I liked can sometimes differ wildly from that list. So, a list of my favorite 2011 posts from the blog.

12. "666? It's Just a Number" (Advertising the End of the World) (September 6) - One of the work projects from the year I had fun producing. I wish I would have had more time to work on it, but maybe that is a good thing I didn't have more time!

11. Rainbow Rowell & Attachments (July 26) - A pseudo book review of Attachments. My wife Jana loved it when Rainbow came and shared with her book club about Attachments.

10. The Crapshoot of the Baseball Playoffs (September 29) - I've come to accept that a number of sports do a poor job of awarding the championship to the most deserving team. Luck and randomness play a prominent role, and thus some deserving teams don't win and carry a legacy as chokers or underachievers. It's not always fair, but it's the system in play for a number of sports. After writing this post, the best team in both leagues lost in the playoffs. Was the World Series winner, St. Louis, the best team? I don't think so, but they won the playoffs so they are the champs.

9. My Appearance in Walter Isaacon's "Steve Jobs" (December 4) - Apple, Pixar and my writing converge to make an appearance in the best selling book of 2011. I'm happy. And, thanks to Jordan Green who came across the source in the book!

8. Terrorism in Norway, Amy Winehouse, Addiction & Social Media (July 25) - Some thoughts on the response from people, and the media, to various events and tragedies that occur around the world.

7. Justice & Reasonable Doubt (July 9) - The latest "trial of the century" that a sizable portion of the populace had no idea about. When they verdict came down on Casey Anthony, there was the outrage that lasted for the twenty-four hour news cycle. People took to social media to voice how the verdict was an injustice. I was grateful that most individuals who were opining about the verdict would not be my judge or jury someday.

6. Pray For/Against Obama (May 8) - I don't discuss politics much anymore, but I took the bait here to respond against someone's foolish note in a church bathroom.

5. The RID Project: Christmas Tree (Update #6) (November 29) - I've been pleased with how The RID Project posts have come so far. A number of them could have been included in this list, and I was tempted to put the post that dealt with the National Football League in here. That one garnered a number of comments from people offline. This post, though, was fun, and the response from others has been overwhelmingly positive.

4. Turning 35 (Being Old and Young) (August 25) - The most thought-provoking birthday yet for me.

3. Lying to Tell Truth (April 26) - Partially inspired by the controversy surrounding Greg Mortenson, I talk about the pressure to stretch the truth, and sometimes lie, to convey a point so you can continue to keep funding, attention and networking.

2. Returning to the Scene of the Crime...and Receiving Hope (Part 1, Part 2) (November 15 & 18) - These posts had been in the making for awhile, whether I realized it or not. I'm proud of them because of the story they tell of my own growth, learning and maturity. (I still have plenty of room to grow!)

1. Coming Clean: My Addiction Story (June 15) - I had been waiting to post this, and the timing was right this past June. I'm glad my story of redemption can be used to be an inspiration, and example, to others to help defeat addictive behaviors or overcome the darkness someone may be in from being a victim of sin.

Hatter's Dozen 2010: Favorite Posts

Hatter's Dozen 2011
Top Posts

Hatter's Dozen 2011: Top Posts

2011-12-27T22:10:00.000-06:00

First up with the Hatter's Dozen is Top Posts. This year, I wrote 226 posts (and counting) on the blog. I use two different services to measure analytics for the blog. There was some discrepancy in the middle of the rankings, so I went with the post that I thought garnered more traction with people. However, there was no doubt with the posts at the top of the list.

12. The Intern Who Is More Than An Intern (August 22) - I've had the fun of getting to know Jordan Johnson since Big Omaha 2010. This past summer, he was an intern at work. In my position, there isn't much I could do to thank and honor him, so I thought I would write a post about him and his work.

11. Why Big Omaha? 5 F's As To Why. (May 11) - The first two Big Omaha events were brilliant, so it was no surprise that I'd shill for it as the third one came around.

10. 2011 Leadership Summit (Session 1 / Bill Hybels) (August 11) - Like clockwork, Bill Hybels opens up Leadership Summit with an amazing teaching. I've heard Bill speak a number of times, and my expectations are high for his talks. He always exceeds my expectations.

9. Missouri Valley Flood Response Efforts (June 7) - It was part of one day, but for a few hours it was wonderful to see people in the area come together to help a local community facing a natural disaster.

8. "The Dark Knight Rises" Prologue (Recap) (December 13) - Coworker, and friend, Klint Bitter and I headed over to Council Bluffs, IA to watch eight minutes of footage of the upcoming Batman film on IMAX. We arrived an hour early, and there was a fairly long line already there. Well worth it.

7. BRK 2011 Dividends (May 1) - Another round of thoughts, opinions and quips from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger at the annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders' Meeting. This year there was the controversy surrounding David Sokol, which Warren was pressed about.

6. Advertising on Facebook and Google (February 1) - Because of my work, I'm asked about ad campaigns online. I thought I'd blog about it and help others out with it. I've been blessed by a number of other individuals and organizations, online, who freely post their work. I wanted to do the same, even if it is on a much smaller degree.

5. Pray For/Against Obama (May 8) - Ugly Evangelical Republican stereotype rears its head. I take the bait and respond.

4. How to Win a Free Ticket to Big Omaha (April 28) - An opportunity to pay it forward since I've been given so much through Big Omaha. It was fun meeting some people from the community through this contest I held.

3. Forgiving my Grandfather, a Pedophile (November 9) - A story of family, faith and forgiveness.

2. My Appearance in Walter Isaacson's "Steve Jobs" (December 4) - My favorite post in 2010, that I wrote, ends up being source material for the biggest selling book in 2011. Awesome.

1. Coming Clean: My Addiction Story (June 16) - I'm glad this is number one.

Hatter's Dozen 2010: Top Posts

Beyond The Message: Christmas & Grief

2011-12-23T18:38:00.003-06:00

While Christmas is synonymous with joy and times with loved ones, the holiday season can be painful for a lot of people. I sit down with Tim Perry to talk about loneliness, grief and pain that is associated with Christmas. Tim shares personally some of the thoughts and emotions he is experiencing since this is the first Christmas without either of his parents. Incredibly grateful for Tim sharing with me.

Curry Fries & Mayo #89 (The Last One For Awhile...)

2011-12-23T15:16:00.000-06:00

One last time?

A sunny day, unfortunately, here in Dundee. Sitting in Amsterdam, enjoying some curry fries and mayo, and looking out over 50th Street.

I've been coming consistently to Amsterdam for over four years now. Back in 2007, I came every Friday for lunch. I would order curry fries and mayo, and then spend some time writing, in long form, about my recovery from addiction. In late May of 2008, I had a breakthrough with my recovery and stopped writing about that topic while at Amsterdam. Instead, I started writing about random things, and I'd blog about it. For awhile, I named my blog Curry Fries & Mayo because I did come here so often to eat and write.

This past year, I haven't been able to come to Amsterdam as much as I'd like. When I have been able to get here, I've spent a lot of my time writing longer posts and/or talking with people here. (Usually Anne and Phil, the owners.)

I hope to mix-in some shorter posts more often and not just save a bunch of thoughts for a compilation post. It was easy to do these posts when I was writing them once a week or every other week. It's harder when it is once a month because there is too much to mention.

I was thinking I would get to 100 posts and then stop, but at this rate I don't know when that will be. I will still be coming down here to eat, write and converse with people, but the steady stream of rambling posts will stop for awhile.

All that being said...

I'm one of the few individuals disappointed by the mild winter so far.

I can understand why Sports Illustrated awarded Pat Summitt and Mike Kryzezwski their Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year award. I was hoping Aaron Rodgers and Dirk Nowitzki would get the award for winning championships while overcoming various forms of adversity.

The fact that I still can't spell Kryzezwski without looking it up surprises me. Duke is "on tv more than Leave It To Beaver...reruns". I would think the spelling would've been beaten into me by now.

I have tried to not follow the NFL this season, and yet I'm defending my championship in the one fantasy football league I'm playing. It just takes setting a lineup consistently, and a bit of luck.

I saw The Descendants last week. I wasn't sure I liked it, but as I drove away from the theater I was thinking a lot about the film. It is my favorite Alexander Payne film.

I save a lot of vacation days, but I won't end up using all of them. The vacation days I have taken last week and this week have not been restful. Last week, I forced myself to go see a movie (The Descendants) because it was a vacation day. I had been doing work off-and-on on these vacation days. There's just a lot going on with the launch of the Online Campus happening soon. I'm glad I like my job.

I've given up on my diet during the holidays. I was at 180.6 before Thanksgiving, but a few days after Thanksgiving I was over 191. My goal is to stay below 180. I'll be able to do that better once the holidays pass and there aren't cookies and treats everywhere at work! Plus, the holiday get togethers with loads of delicious foods.

I hope to see Doug McDermott play sometime this season live.

I continue to read through the Book of Romans repeatedly.

The latest Coldplay album was on sale for $5, so I bought it. I can't recall the last album I bought that wasn't a soundtrack. I listened to it once, and that might be the only time I listen to it for awhile.

Take that back, I do recall the last album I bought. I bought Lady Gaga's latest album when Amazon was selling it for $1. I was going to listen to it and blog about it. I still haven't listened to it. A waste of a $1.

I think it was elementary school the last time I used the library as much as I have in recent weeks.

Jana and I don't do a lot with Christmas decor and lights, but we definitely enjoy those individuals who spends lots of money, and time, decorating their houses.

Boston Red Sox? Meh...

NBA? Meh...And that's better than it should be. David Stern, and some of the owners, have done a lot to turn me off from the sport.

Soccernomics is a great book.

Amsterdam and Dundee, a wonderful match.

Thanks for reading these posts.

The RID Project: Nintendo (Update #9)

2011-12-19T15:22:00.001-06:00

To find out more about The RID Project, click here. To read previous posts, click here.

I can vividly recall the feeling of when I received a Nintendo as a Christmas gift back in the sixth grade. The next few days were blissfully spent playing Metroid, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. No more going over to someone else's house just to watch them play Nintendo.

When I started dating Jana, one of the most interesting things I found out about her was she was a Nintendo fan. She's a massive fan of the Super Mario Bros. games, and one of the best players. When I've mentioned this to guys, they usually roll their eyes. I then try and get them to play Jana in Super Mario Bros. just so they can get schooled by her, and they always are.

We are fans of Nintendo.

When Liam was born in November of 2006, the Nintendo Wii was getting ready to be released. I managed to secure a Nintendo Wii for her as a gift. I thought we'd have time to play it. And, we did, but it was always at the end of the day when we were tired. Or, we'd sometimes play while the boys were napping. This was fun, but Jana and I always had the thought we should be doing something else while we had the chance instead of playing Nintendo.

Soon, Liam was older and we thought he might like it. He did, but he didn't know what he was doing really. He liked it, but he liked about anything as long as Jana and I were involved. Why force it?

Slowly, the controllers and games started to collect dust. You can tell from the picture that we didn't fully utilize it since one of the nunchuk controllers I bought back in 2006 is still in its original packaging. Awesome purchase by me there.

The past two years we've used it more for Netflix than games. The boys haven't even asked about playing games on it. As Jana and I have tried to simplify our lives, playing Nintendo was something that didn't even enter into our minds. Would we still play it if we had time? Yes, but it doesn't make sense to play right now in our stage of life.

Earlier in the year I made the decision to sell most of our Nintendo gear. I hadn't gotten around to doing anything about it until recently. A coworker mentioned to me he was thinking about getting his son a game system, and I mentioned I was selling mine. It worked out for both of us. I was able to get rid of my Nintendo Wii for some money, and my coworker was able to get a great deal on a Nintendo Wii, and a number of games, as a Christmas gift for his son.

The Nintendo DS we have is packaged up and getting ready to be sold on eBay. The Nintendo Gamecube? No idea what to do with that. Perhaps give it to Goodwill.

Will Jana and I get a Nintendo in the future? It's possible. Well, more probable than possible. The boys will want some sort of game system when they get older. Again, why force it now? They are all about Lego, not Nintendo. I'd rather nurture their creativity and imagination with Lego, drawing and other activities. Plus, it does no good to hold onto a Nintendo Wii until that day the boys want a game system. The Wii would be obsolete by then.

Someday I'm sure we'll pick it back up, but for now we can be rid of a number of Nintendo products that are collecting dust in our house. We don't feel the need to play any games, we have time devoted to things that are more important to our family, and we can get some money for the systems.

Christmas Eve Services (You're Invited!)

2011-12-19T11:21:00.001-06:00

I wanted to invite you to this year's Christmas Eve services at Christ Community Church. One of the best services I've ever attended anywhere was last year's Christmas Eve services at CCC.

This year's services, at the Old Mill Campus, will take place on December 23 (7 PM) and December 24 (4, 6 & 8 PM). Also, we will be streaming online the December 24, 4 PM service. Just go to CCCOmaha.tv to watch it live online. While we don't have everything with the Online Campus finalized, you can get an idea of what we're up to with it as the February 5 launch draws near.

Hope to see you at Old Mill, or online, this Christmas Eve!

Here's a creative video from last year's Christmas Eve services I helped produce.

Why The RID Project?

2011-12-18T15:54:00.000-06:00

Even in July I was ready to get rid of stuff in my cellar.

It's been two months since I started The RID Project. I wanted to share some thoughts about the overall project, and share some goals with it.

Why am I doing this, getting rid of stuff? I want to be a better steward of my resources, stuff and time. I want to be a better example to my family with money, possessions and my schedule. I want to bless others. I want to be intentional about not being a consumerist or materialist.

Partaking in The RID Project, pursuing a minimalism lifestyle, is not about taking on a poverty mentality. Some people have thought I'm a hypocrite because I've been an advocate for minimalism while still purchasing things. I've been talking about getting rid of stuff, and yet here I am buying something. Minimalism and The RID Project aren't about poverty. Rather, they are about being more effective with resources, stuff and time. It's being more intentional and thoughtful with purchases. It's freeing me up so I can focus in more on what I want to do and should be doing.

Boxing up some stuff to take to Half-Price Books to sell.

I've enjoyed talking with people about why I've done The RID Project and pursued a minimalist lifestyle. It's been cool to hear the stories of others and how they are evaluating their own lives when it comes to resources, stuff and time.

At times, I've been surprised by some of the criticisms that have come my way from people. I thought I had shared my intentions well, but some people didn't like it. The more I thought about the criticisms, I realized it shouldn't have surprised me. We live in a culture that is very much materialistic. Anything we do that threatens, or challenges, a culture's "idol" is going to face pushback, especially from those that adhere to the idol's mindset. For some people that have criticized, I think what I've done and shared about has brought conviction about their lifestyle. Instead of dealing with it, they criticize me.

It's been fun, and a blessing, being able to give friends some of the stuff I have that I don't use anymore. Why keep something in storage for years if I'm not going to use it? Why keep something in my closet if I'm not going to wear it? Why not give it to someone who will appreciate it more than me? My goal in life should not be acquiring stuff. The thought has crossed my mind that I could be passing on my clutter to someone else, but I hope that isn't the case. I'm talking to my friends about this project.

I've come to appreciate the library more. I use to like the idea of having my own personal library, but that meant buying a lot of books I ended up reading once...if at all! Like a lot of people, I have a stack of books that are waiting to be read. However, I've gotten rid of a lot of books, and books that were waiting to be read. Checking books out forces me to prioritize what I want to read. It's good. I've used the library a lot these past few months.

The extra time with my family from cutting out clutter and time wasters? Lovely.

As I drill down in my life I come across stuff I had forgotten about. I shake my head a lot upon these realizations. How can I forget about this stuff? It's easy when you have a lot and it just sits boxed up in my cellar. This past week, I experienced this a lot when going through more boxes in the cellar. I found items that I hadn't even opened, but yet at the time I bought them I thought were important to have.

I don't have it all figured out when it comes to The RID Project, or with minimalism, but I'm getting there. I'm not perfect, but my life is in a much healthier position, as it relates to this, than it was over a year ago. I want to be able to give/serve more as I get rid of stuff and have more financial/time capacity available to help others. I don't want to be ungrateful, or for my family to be, with how blessed we are and take that for granted. I want my family to take the blessings we have and bless others with them.

My goal with The RID Project is to do a weekly post, for an entire year, documenting something I have gotten rid of. I want it to be in conjunction with the minimalism lifestyle I am pursuing. I want to share what I'm learning and how I'm applying it to my life. Thank you to those of you that have been reading these posts and have provided positive and helpful feedback. I'm grateful for it.

Thanks to Joshua Becker and Dave Weaver for sharing their stories that are an inspiration to me.

To read previous The RID Project posts, click here.

"The Dark Knight Rises" Prologue (Recap)

2011-12-13T23:48:00.000-06:00

Front of one of the two t-shirts viewers had the choice of receiving for free.

Just came back from seeing the screening of the prologue from The Dark Knight Rises. Was it worth driving to the IMAX theater in Iowa and waiting in line to see a 6+ minutes of footage from the film? Yes. Most definitely. Friend and coworker Klint Bitter was along for the ride as well.

The shots, the music, the reveals...well worth it. Go see it on IMAX.

Now for the recap. I'll do my best to keep this right. Obviously, SPOILERS AHEAD...

This was the opening sequence of the film. It starts out with Jim Gordon speaking at a memorial for District Attorney Harvey Dent. He shares kind words, trying to mask the truth of Harvey Dent. He ends it with, "I believe in Harvey Dent."

Cut to a SUV driving through a field. In the backseat are three hooded figures. The vehicle pulls up to a plane where a CIA agent is waiting with armed personnel. One of the hooded figures is brought to him, and it is Dr. Leonid Pavel. This is a character referenced in the viral campaign. The other two characters are not known, but they apparently have information on the mercenary Bane. They are taken on board the plane.

The plane is in the air, and the CIA agent is threatening the hooded men. He will let one of them live if they tell him information. He pretends to shoot one of them to try and get the other to talk, but the other person is not fooled. In fact, he tells them as much. His voice is a bit muffled, but also somewhat synthesized. You know it is Bane. The CIA agent pulls the hood off to reveal Bane.

The agent is not connecting the dots, thinking he has captured what he wanted. He asks about Bane's mask and if he would die if it was taken off. Bane tells him it would not be helpful. However he is unaware of a bigger plane coming into the airspace above the plane they are in. Bane informs the agent that this is going to plan. We then see four individuals descend via ropes from the plane above and attack the plane below. Bane stands up and breaks out of his restraints. Dr. Pavel is scared.

As the plane below begins to fall apart, Bane and his team capture Dr. Pavel. They then do some sort of blood transfusion from the doctor to a body bag that has been brought in. As Bane and his team get ready to leave, he asks for one of his team to stay on the plane and be a part of the wreckage. The individual does so willingly and asks if "the fire rises". Bane tells him yes. The individual is content.

Bane holds on to the doctor, flips a switch, and is pulled out of the plane below. That plane plummets to the ground, and Bane, with the doctor holding on, are being pulled in the air by the plane above.

The prologue ends and then we are treated to a quick montage of clips from the rest of the film. The first clip? Batman holding a gun, a shot that was already revealed already. The second clip? Catwoman. Not Selina Kyle, but Catwoman in costume from the neck up. We see more clips of Bane and Batman, the two of them fighting, car chase with what appears to be the Batmobile flying, a gang war getting ready to start, Selina Kyle riding in a car, and the shot of Bane holding the broken mask of Batman.

And that was it.

I thought the prologue was brilliant. It's not better than The Dark Knight prologue and the reveal of the Joker. That's one of the greatest opening sequences ever. Still, this was brilliant. The movie jumps right into the story after the brief scene of James Gordon giving the memorial of Harvey Dent. That connects it to the last film, where Gordon and Batman hide the truth to give people their hero. You had the reveal of Bane, some great IMAX shots, and an amazing action sequence at altitude. There was a brief shot of Catwoman, and of course Batman in action. I do wonder about Bane's voice, because it was hard to understand at points, but it did add to the raw menace of the character.

Klint and I speculated on whether or not Christopher Nolan would kill Batman. There is that hint with the promotion and screened footage.

July 2012 can't come soon enough. See The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX for the full effect.

The RID Project: Children's Books (Update #8)

2011-12-12T21:27:00.000-06:00

For an explanation of The RID Project, click here. To read previous updates, click here.

Jana and I have three sons, and our oldest just celebrated his fifth birthday. The boys have four sets of grandparents who like to give gifts. Not to mention we have friends who are going through the same stage of life that have passed along children's items we could use. So, we have a lot of children's "stuff".

One thing we have amassed is children's books. Jana and I both like to read, we like to read to the boys, and the boys like to read. We have children's books lining the bookcases in the living room, the dining room, the basement and their bedrooms.

As Jana and I started simplifying and minimizing around the house, we realized we had a number of children's books that we did not read. We started gathering them up. Then, we talked with the boys about which books they did like and want to keep. In the end, we had over eighty different children's books we were going to get rid of.

While we knew we could take them to Half-Price Books and sell them, we wanted to give them to someone who would be blessed by them. Many of the books had been given to us, and we wanted to pass them along as well.

At Christ Community Church, Jana is a leader in the MOPS ministry (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers). She was made aware that Compass Ministries was looking for book donations for kids. Perfect timing. We were able to donate our books through a book drive coordinated by MOPS.

Compass Ministries is located in North Omaha and they serve children and teens in the area. I know a number of the volunteers, and they do amazing work with kids. A number of the kids come from difficult situations, but these volunteers do what they can to help make a positive difference in these kids' lives.

Hopefully, these books can be used to make a difference in a child's life.

Online Campus Update

2011-12-12T14:53:00.000-06:00

I wanted to give you an update with where things stand with the Online Campus. I've been kind of quiet about it lately, but that's been purposeful. We had some cool things in the works, but now a number of them are finalized. Here's a summary of what's on tap. I'll go into some more details in the embedded video.

Online Campus launches on February 5.
Streaming the entire 10:45 Access service.
Multi-camera production in HD.

A few other things happening that I didn't mention in the video. One is the development for the Online Campus site. Right now, we have a basic version of the Online Campus up and running. However, in mid-January you will see more of the interactive and personal elements to the Online Campus site implemented. (Special thanks to LifeChurch.tv for their help with this.)

Also, early in January 2012 you'll start to see a physical presence for the Online Campus in the Old Mill Campus Atrium. When the Online Campus launches February 5, the team will be working from this space in the Atrium. (Thanks to Christine Gerhart for designing it and our Property Team for constructing it in the coming weeks.)

Finally, because we will be streaming the entire 10:45 Access service, the Online Campus Team will be working more closely with the team that supports Access. I'm looking forward to this because it'll be fun to work more with Micah, Ryan and others on a consistent basis. (If you still would like to volunteer to be a part of the Online Campus Team, please let me know!)

I'm excited by what God has in store with the Online Campus. It's going to be fun to see how God uses it to get people connected with the gospel.

So, before the Super Bowl kickoff, come be a part of the Online Campus kickoff!

(For the latest information about the Online Campus, click here.)